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Persimmons, Asian pears, pomegranates and clementines…the turn of the New Year is a terrific time to introduce into your diet new and yummy foods that are good for you.  Enough with too many holiday cookies, glasses of eggnog and fruit cakes! Make eating healthier part of your new year’s resolution – doing so can help you shed unwanted winter weight and can provide vital nutrients your body needs to ward off colds and flu.

Rather than sticking with your standard fruit and vegetable routine, how about trying something new? Winter fruits and vegetables are so beautiful and chock full of wonderful nutrients that are the perfect antidote to the overindulgence of the holidays. 

Pomegranate skins are brilliant shades of reds and pinks; persimmons are varying shades of orange; and dates are a rich velvety brown. Using these in your winter dishes can add color and texture to your food – along with vitamins and fiber. Pomegranates and persimmons are loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C and fiber, all ingredients that are needed to ward off the pesky colds going around this winter. Dates are fat-free and cholesterol free, and are rich in non-heme iron (the kind of iron found in plants, not animals), potassium, fiber and B vitamins.

There are countless lush, beautiful fruits and vegetables that I could discuss, but instead, I encourage you to break out of your comfort zone and try at least one new fruit or vegetable per week. Spend some time wandering through the produce department of a grocery store and pick something whose color or texture speaks to you. Maybe it’s a bunch of dark green kale, a box of bright clementines, or rich yellow-gold Asian pear.  If your grocery store is limited in its produce offerings, search out a local farmers market. Many cities host farmers markets in the winter months and their offerings can be more varied than a traditional supermarket.

So, if possible, try to incorporate some of these delicious and colorful foods into your diet as part of your overall New Year's strategy. 

Your body will thank you.

Dr. Elizabeth Ricanati is the mother of three children and founding medical director of The Cleveland Clinic's LifeStyle 180 program.  She is a regular columnist for ShareWIK.com 

More Dr. Elizabeth Ricanati articles, click here. 

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